German Expressionism (1905-1917) (modern art)

Question 1

German Expressionism (1905-1917)

Answer 1

1. inherited the concern for the spiritual dimension from German Romantic art
2. art should convey the emotions and spiritual preoccupations of the artist through a wide range of styles and subject matter, or abstract forms
3. inner meaning - expressed not only though brilliant colour, but also by distortions of form, ragged outline, and agitated brushstrokes
4. revealed the psychological tension caused by the social conditions of pre-WWI - poverty, violence, human sufferings, anxiety for change

Question 2

Die Brucke (the bridge)

Answer 2

1. founded 1905 in Dresden by a group of young artists
2. they served as a bridge to link up all the revolutionary elements
3. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
4. Emil Nolde

Question 3

Precursors of German Expressionism

Answer 3

1. Edvard Munch

Question 4

Edvard Munch - the scream

Answer 4

1. the norwegian painter is a precursor to expressionism
2. the painting is an icon of modern anxiety and alienation

Question 5

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - street, dresden

Answer 5

1. scene of streets and inhabitants of the city, haunted with ghostly figures

Question 6

ernst ludwig kirchner- five women on the street

Answer 6

1. fluorescent light reveals 5 prostitutes in berlin waiting for clients
2. elongated figures, trendy fashion constructed with a vertical rhythm - a modern “gothic” style

Question 7

Der Blaue Reiter (the blue rider)

Answer 7

1. founded 1911 in Munich by art students
2. name - taken from a book published by the founding members, Kandinsky and Marc
3. Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc

Question 8

Wassily Kandinsky

Answer 8

1. russian settled in Munich
2. der blaue reiter
3. used colours to convey pure feelings and emotions - created the first piece of abstract art
4. art should convey the “inner necessity” of the artists

Question 9

Wassily Kandinsky - sketch for composition II

Answer 9

1. left - scene of deluge and disturbance
2. right - garden of paradise, lovers reclining as in Matisse’s the Joy of Life

Question 10

Wassily Kandinsky - Composition VI

Answer 10

1. created the first piece of abstract art, in 1910, an anti-materialistic, spiritual art form comparable to music